Testing The Relationship Between Trust And Positive Relationships Within A Top Management Team: A Second-Order Structural Equation Modeling Approach
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/JPM.2022.008Keywords
Trust, positive relationships, top management team (TMT), trust within a teamAbstract
Purpose: The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationships between the following two main concepts: trust within a team and positive interpersonal relationships within a team based on empirical research conducted in top management teams (TMTs).
Design/Methodology/Approach: In accordance with the positive approach in management sciences, positive relationships and trust within teams are crucial resources which allow management teams to face the strategic challenges of the modern market. Based on critical literature review, the theoretical framework of the model was created to test the relationship between antecedents of trust and positive interpersonal relationships within TMTs. The study is based on a survey conducted on a sample of 123 top managers and members of teams in Poland. The verification of the theoretical model was performed based on a second-order structural equation modelling approach.
Findings: This research has shown a significant positive impact of trust on positive interpersonal relationships in TMT. In addition, it was shown that among the analysed antecedents of trust, competence has the strongest impact on positive interpersonal relations, especially connectivity.
Implications/limitations: This study has some limitations, such as the limitation to a quantitative method to focus on one specific aim. The sample size is not large, but nevertheless represents more than a quarter of the population of medium and large companies in the industry under study in which strategic decisions are made by teams. Furthermore, the cross-sectional nature of the study does not authorize causal claims, so future prospective studies are needed to develop knowledge about the nature and direction of the relationship between trust and positive relationships.
Originality/value: Studies of managerial teams in the field of interpersonal relations are rare. This paper contributes to filling this gap by selecting TMT teams as subjects for research. The study reported in this paper contributes to current understanding of the nature of relationship between trust and positive relationships in team.
Keywords: trust, positive relationships, top management team (TMT), trust within a team
Paper type: Research paper
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